


Birthday Girl

by mistressterably



Series: No rest for the wicked [9]
Category: The Thick of It (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 02:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10452816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistressterably/pseuds/mistressterably
Summary: Gracie turns 2 and she gets a lovely birthday surprise.





	

Sitting at the kitchen table, it was a rare quiet afternoon moment for Malcolm. Dani was working a later shift at the bookshop. Mia, home from school for the day, played on her own in the front room with a new paint set he had got her the previous weekend. His youngest, Gracie, was down for a nap. That meant he could enjoy a good cup of tea and just read the newspaper at a leisurely place.

Five plus years of having young kids around the house had trained Malcolm well. When Mia got bored of her painting she wandered into the kitchen and, without a word, stood beside Malcolm waiting for him to push back away from the table a bit to let her get up onto his lap with a helping hand from him. She sat back against him, sighing happily. His daughter waited until he finished the article he had been reading to set his paper down.

‘Daddy?’

‘Yes, lass?’

‘It’s Gracie’s birthday on Saturday, isn’t it?’

‘It is.’

‘Are we going to have a big party for her?’

‘Oh, I don’t think it’s going to be a big party. She doesn’t have all the friends you have to invite over. Mommy and I were thinking of maybe just getting Gracie a gift, have a quiet day in if it's rainy out. You’d sit and watch her favourite Paddington movie with us, wouldn’t you?’

‘I’d do anything for Gracie.’ Mia declared. ‘Couldn’t we do something more than that?’

‘What would you like to do for Gracie’s birthday celebration?’

‘We can watch Paddington any day, daddy. I want to do something special for her.’ Mia looked up at him. ‘She likes to run and play. Can we go somewhere to do that? Or maybe the zoo?’

‘That’ll be not very fun if it’s rainy out.’

‘What if it’s sunny out?’ 

‘I’ll talk to mommy tonight and see what we can do if it’s a nice day.’

That Saturday, Malcolm woke up early and checked the weather reports. He grinned as he woke up Dani. ‘Love, no rain in the forecast today.’  
Dani stirred awake, her hand running up Malcolm’s arm. ‘No rain at all?’

‘None. I’ll go get things ready to go then?’

‘Mmm, yes. Do that. I’ll get up and get the girls ready.’

Malcolm bent to kiss her before he left her to wake up. In the kitchen, Malcolm did his best to work quietly. He made up enough sandwiches for all four of them to eat well, added a large bunch of grapes and some fresh bananas. First in the picnic basket was the juice boxes for the girls and some bottles of water. As he packed the last of their lunch in the basket, Malcolm could hear his youngest waking up with happy cries at seeing Dani. 

Putting on the kettle for their morning tea, Malcolm got a couple bowls of cereal out for the girls. Mia came clattering down the stairs first, already dressed with her long hair tied behind her neck. Malcolm missed the mass of curls she had when she was younger but her hair had straightened as she had got older and she looked so much more like her mother the older she got. ‘Hey, lass. Careful with the milk. No spilling.’

‘I’m always careful, daddy.’ Mia reminded him. 

‘Now, remember, this is Gracie’s birthday so she’s the one in charge today. Just like you get special treatment on your birthday.’

‘Are we just doing the movie for her?’

‘No, it’s going to be sunny today.’ 

‘Ooooh! What are we doing? The zoo?’

‘That’s a surprise even for you, lass.’ Malcolm teased. He left her to eat her cereal and went to his office. There, locked in his file cabinet was Gracie’s birthday gift. A new Paddington Bear doll for her with him in a pair of pyjamas on instead of his signature boots and raincoat. He still had his hat though. Malcolm had put a pink bow on him for Gracie to take off.

As he straightened the pink bow, Malcolm heard Dani come down the stairs with Gracie. His youngest was never quiet at anything and he could hear her saying ‘Morning Mi mi!’ to her sister. Leaving his office with the bear hidden behind his back, Malcolm joined the rest of the family in the kitchen. Dani smiled at him and, with Mia joining in, they all sang happy birthday to Gracie as she clapped happily along. At the end of the song, Malcolm presented his daughter with the bear.

‘PADDIN’TON!’ Gracie squealed loudly in delight and grabbed it from him, hugging it close.

‘That’s so cute!’ Mia added, hugging her sister and the bear in one go. ‘He’s in pyjamas! You’ll be able to sleep with him now.’

‘Sleepy bear.’ Gracie beamed and kissed her new bear.

‘Eat your breakfast, girls, we’re going to go for a drive today.’

‘A drive?’ Mia’s eyes lit up. ‘Where we going?’

‘Somewhere special for Gracie’s birthday.’ Malcolm said. ‘But we can’t go till you’re both finished eating. No, no eating too fast either, Mia.’

While the girls had their breakfast, Malcolm took the picnic basket to their car along with a large blanket they could sit on. He checked the car seat belt to ensure it was snug. 

By the time an hour had passed, they were all in the car and on the way. Mia was more than happy to play quietly with Gracie as they traveled. Dani did the driving as Malcolm navigated on the map. The drive took an hour and Malcolm began to wonder if the weather was going to hold as some clouds rolled over them on the trip but they cleared up as they pulled off the highway. They only had to turn around once after a wrong turn but they pulled into a parking lot at Lunderston Bay. 

Mia was peering out the window but wasn’t able to see exactly where they were. Gracie was gabbling happily away without making much sense. 

‘Take my hand, girls. No running off.’ Dani told them as Malcolm got the basket and blanket from the car boot. They walked along the path from the car park to the sandy beach. At the sight of the calm waters and the beach, both girls cried out in delight.

Malcolm spread out the blanket, anchoring it with the picnic basket. Once it was laid out the girls were helped out of the shoes and socks. Dani did the same as Malcolm opted to keep his on. ‘Oh, come on, Malcolm. The sand is warm enough.’

‘No, I can’t stand the feeling of sand in my socks afterwards.’

‘Girls! Help me here. We have to get daddy’s shoes off.’ 

Malcolm tried to fight the girls off but he was soon overpowered. Even Gracie got in the act by practically sitting on him as Dani and Mia got his shoes off. With his socks off, Gracie took hold of his hand and tugged him to follow her onto the sand. Mia was soon on the other side of him, her hand in his as they led him down to the water’s edge. Dani was on the other side of Gracie, holding her hand. The water flowed slowly back and forth with the gentle tide and Gracie would chase it as it ebbed away but then ran away as it came back up the sandy beach. 

Mia bent to stare at a small pool of water that remained as the water ebbed away to look at some small fish flitting around in it. Gracie joined her and got the fish scattering as she poked her finger in the midst of them. 

When the fascination of the water faded, the girls came back to the blanket and sat in the sand beside it, building small mounds and fashioning some crude castles. Mia showed Gracie that she could ‘draw’ in the sand and they soon began to draw a big picture in the sand together of their family. 

Between Malcolm and Dani, they managed to take loads of photos of the girls as they played. It was a good hour or more before the girls began to tire and want to sit to have some lunch. Gracie squealed happily when she realized that lunch was marmalade sandwiches. After lunch, Gracie faded and curled up beside Dani for a nap. Mia, not tired at all, got Malcolm to walk with her along the beach. 

‘Thank you, daddy.’ Mia said as they strolled just above the water line on the beach. ‘Gracie’s birthday has been fun.’

‘Glad you liked it too.’

‘I did, daddy.’ Mia smiled up at him. ‘Can we come to the beach again?’

‘I think we can do that again. Only when it’s sunny though. Beaches when it’s raining aren’t as much fun.’

She suddenly stopped him and hugged him hard. ‘I love you, daddy.’

‘I love you too, Mia.’ He paused a moment and looked back to where Dani sat with Gracie. ‘Lass, how about we go back to mommy and your sister and tell them how much we love them too.’

‘Yeah!’ Mia agreed and led the way back. At the blanket, Mia sat down beside her mother and hugged her tight. ‘Daddy and I love you, mommy. And we love Gracie too.’

‘Oh, sweetie. I love you both too.’ 

Malcolm knelt behind her, wrapping his arms around the two as Gracie slept happily on. ‘My best girls in the universe.’


End file.
